Adarsh missing papers probe handed over to CBI

Mumbai, Feb 17 (IANS) The Bombay High Court Thursday ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take over investigations into the missing documents of the controversial Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society.A division bench headed by Justice B.H. Marlapalle of the Bombay High Court, while transferring the case from the Mumbai police, also asked the CBI to file its progress report in the matter within three weeks.

The court also directed the CBI to amend its First Information Report to include provisions of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988.

This followed the court’s observations that people like a retired driver or a conductor from remote places in the state could not afford to buy flats in south Mumbai and the properties in their names could be benami’ for somebody else.

The Benami Act forbids enforcement of any rights by the real owner to recover the held benami on his behalf.

The court orders came in petitions by activist Mahendra Singh and others demanding a CBI probe into the Adarsh Housing Society scam.

The Marine Drive Police Station lodged a case Nov 26 last year after a state government official registered a complaint saying a few crucial documents pertaining to the clearances granted to the Adarsh Society were found missing from the files.